Thursday, October 31, 2013

John Steiner is today's guest on The Roses of Prose. Take it away, John!

Today, because of computer lingo we
refer to it as a “reboot,” but new beginnings is very much in line with
Buddhist thought and the wisdom of Jedi Master Yoda, “You must unlearn what you
have learned.”

Stories drawn from fantasy,
mythology, religion and science fiction are subject to constant
reinterpretation. Vampires went from strict elements of horror to become one of
the hottest selling themes of romance to date. The market is past saturation
with paranormal romances. And as someone who sees glittery nightcrawlers in the
same light as pedophiles, I had considered my own reboot of vampires before I
knew what Twilight was.

When I began Squad V I was
considering the realistic consequences of vampirism as a disease. Just how
would people respond if they knew there were addicts to hemoglobin who, at the
cellular level, take issue with sunlight? Chances are we would not classify
vampires in the same light as ethnic groups, religions or carriers of HIV. The
nature of immortality contingent on taking the life of others would
fundamentally shift the social dynamic for every human being on Earth.

I had proposed that every
civilization of the ancient and medieval past had reached the same conclusion.
From there it was a matter of drafting vampire characters who reaffirmed the
kill-on-sight reflex of these societies. However, I also wanted vampires to
reflect real personalities with all their shades of gray. In the end what made
vampires so frightening was their humanity.

Pathogenic Ribochondria Vector is the
way I could explain the insertion of hundreds of long and complex genes into
the human genome, thereby making the infection irreversible. Even the largest
viruses couldn’t do that. And because of the traits granted by this unique
disease vampirism, like sports, didn’t build a vampire’s character. No, it
reveals who people would become if the limits of mortality and society had been
lifted.

History is filled with once-great
civilizations that rose to become near-immortal empires. Upon achieving that
level of invulnerability from the outside such societies quickly became clouded
and the heart of their founding principles shadowed by twisted interpretations.
Classically, this took centuries to millennia. People don’t live that long.

Unless something allows them to.

Vampire immortality is invariably
imperfect. They usually require the blood or life force of a victim. Their
weakness or death under the light of the sun was added with the movies, though
literature include many other Achilles heels to their supernatural power. And
so there comes the selective pressure under which a vampire’s psyche evolves.
Decades and centuries of survival fixation, honed by the knowledge that if
they’re killed it will be by horrifically painful and destructive means.

What would you do, knowing that’s how
you would check out? And then you find there are people out there who dedicate
themselves to that purpose. Even without the power trip or hubris of
immortality, or the predatory lifestyle of vampires, these driving forces would
push otherwise moral people to extreme ends. Once that line is crossed their
character is forever changed by what they’ve done. Imagine how much easier the
second time is.

Squad V vampires are as much an
ideology as a medical condition. In that sense, and for the realistic manner in
which they’re dispatched, the first novel of the series is a metaphor of covert
ops and counter-terrorism. I posed some tough questions and moral dilemmas
about what limits are met or exceeded to defeat an enemy who sees no limits.

An entirely new way to look at
vampires both as a policy matter and in terms of military tactics and protocol.
With Squad V the goal was to forever change how readers see the vampire. To
quote George A. Romero’s 1990 reboot of Night
of the Living Dead, “They’re us and we’re them.”

The second book, Snowflake Girl was a
sharp break from the first novel’s look at vampires. For one, it’s from the
vampire’s point of view first and foremost. The central metaphor shifts toward
one of misfortune and coping with dark turns of events in one’s life. I started
on the premise that not all victims of violent sexual assaults become darlings
of the media, for whom a candle is lit and torch carried until the perpetrator
is brought to justice.

Instead, the main character survives
the attack, is accidentally infected for having defended herself, and now runs
the risk of being on Squad V’s strike order list. She has to flee from city to
city. Each time she has to find work, get a place to live and deal with all the
ordinary stresses of life along with staying off the radar of hardened covert
operators.

For me this required a new beginning
in thought. I’m a six foot, two inch tall man with two years martial arts
background, once in the U.S. Army, and with a shockingly high pain threshold.
So when I walk into an unlit parking lot I think nothing of it. But someone
else, say a five foot, five woman? What must go through her head?

I had an easier time working out the
psychology of alien civilizations than that of a woman in everyday life. I knew
that hero stories draw upon classic archetypes, and so drafted one of my own to
wrap the character around. Biology is one of the fields I’m strongest in, and
the resources for that opened up a broad range of options. When you read
Snowflake Girl you’re seeing the world through the eyes of a leopardess. With
it comes a dash of emotional reactions based on my own background as the victim
of physical assault on par with Abu-Ghraib. There are scenes written in Snowflake
Girl that had me in tears.

For the baseline of Barer of the
Ghost Nation, the third novel in the Squad V series, sorrow and trauma remain.
Only now the tale is of a whole culture and people who were infected with
lethal diseases and slaughtered down to the last woman and child. One man of
this forgotten American Indian civilization remained, and so scarred by the
experiences of the subsequent four centuries developed multiple personality
disorder, which he hoped to conceal.

Thus was born the ideal duel use
title that allowed me to overlay psychological analysis onto the traditions of
indigenous peoples. The sole survivor believes he carries the ghosts of his
people, and so strives to ensure he isn’t discovered. If found he risks losing
the spirits of his nation to confinement in mental health facilities. A third
beginning for what vampirism means in the real world; imperialism.

Cultures that are invaded and
defeated, one day find themselves in the shattered ruins of their own
traditions and the rubble of the empire that later collapses around them. They
then see a need to strengthen themselves, and rise from the grave of their
past. Except to do this they borrow the ideals and institutions of empire for
their security. A cycle of dysfunction is perpetuated into the next age. The
empire never dies, and instead is given a new start and freshly wiped
historical memory to rewrite as it sees fit.

The overarching theme of the Squad V
series addresses yet another issue for which vampires stand in. We’re a species
of more than seven billion medium sized omnivores. Predation, disease and our
own sociopathic- sometimes psychopathic behaviors don’t even begin to compare
to our birthrates. Yet nature always reacts to a new situation in ways that
often surprise us. The fusion of predator, disease and murderous impulses of
the mind meet their trivium, their three-way junction in the road with
vampires.

When I one day return to writing the
Squad V series there will be yet another reset of what the series means. Adaptation
is the key to survival in changing ecologies. The vampire genre must and will
evolve to fill new niches of audiences. As writers, we should challenge what
readers believe they understood, and hope they see the world anew.

True horror is showing the audience what lines they never thought
they would cross, and them convince them of the justification of doing
precisely that.

In the decades following the second world war
the United States created new agencies and departments to address a wide range
of issues including intelligence, emergency response to disaster and disease as
well as covert warfare both abroad and domestically. These converge on
discovery of a new threat not only to the U.S. but to the fundamental nature of
human society and physiology.

Quincy Barns, a former U.S. Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary
operative, learns that not only are vampires real but there is a professional
combat force trained and equipped to face the threat they pose. Once recruited
into Squad Five Quincy faces enemies and inner dilemmas like nothing the
hardened veteran can imagine.

Life is tough for a single woman in a new city.
Find an apartment, pay bills, hunt for a job... and dodge paramilitary vampire
hunters. Cecilia Freeland didn't ask for vampirism. All she did was fight to
survive. But her life is forever changed. Alienated from society and the law
Cecilia has to stay ahead of Squad Five.

Wanniukaga is the last of his people. No one else carries on his
cultural traditions. It was the end of the world for the healer and spiritual
leader. He is four hundred years old, and he is not alone. Afflicted by
vampirism from those who slaughtered his nation, Wanniukaga is further burdened
with the spirits of his people inside his mind.

Shattered by hard economic times St. Louis lays atop an older city
whose people died out centuries ago, save for Wanniukaga who wanders its urban
decay to this day. Locked in a struggle to preserve his people’s traditions and
adapt to accelerating change the healer also must balance his many personalities.
Two homeless teenagers befriend and help Wanniukaga through difficult times
against other vampires responsible for the death of his people, religiously
motivated amateur vampire slayers and hard hearted Squad Five operator stepping
outside the rules of his unit.

John Steiner earned his
Associate of Biology at Salt Lake Community College, where he is currently
working as a tutor in math and chemistry. He exercises an avid interest in
history, science, philosophy, mythology, martial arts as well as military
tactics and technology.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

October is apple cider and donuts, baseball, and breast
cancer awareness. One month set aside to remind us to be aware of our bodies.
In the “olden days” when doctors knew everything, we acted like children and
were treated as such. The doc knew best.

As the saying goes, “we’ve come a long way, baby.” We have a
responsibility to take care of ourselves, to be responsible for our physical
well-being. We must educate ourselves about our bodies.

Two weeks ago, my daughter invited me to attend an evening
of education. Doctors and other health professionals conducted
mini-workshops on things like genetic testing, nutrition, stress management, surgical
options, and more. I wish there had been time to attend more than two workshops.
Fortunately, some of the workshops are available as podcasts. http://www.hollandhospital.org/WomenCenter/Overview.aspx
If your local hospital has an event like this, I urge you to take advantage of
the opportunity to learn more about your body.

In my last post (October 8) I joked about something silly scaring me more than breast cancer. Sometimes the more serious a
situation, the only way to deal with it is to find humor. Otherwise, we cry. I’m
well aware of the seriousness of cancer. Both of my sisters, an aunt and her
daughter are breast cancer survivors. They survived because their cancers were detected early. One of my sisters discovered hers through self-examination. The
other through an annual mammogram.

Just because one month a year is devoted to breast cancer awareness
doesn’t mean in two days we can forget about it. Be aware of changes in your
body. Get regular mammograms. Take care of yourself.

I blog here on the 8th and 30th of each month and Mondays on
my own blogsite http://dianeburton.blogspot.com My first romantic suspense, One Red Shoe, is available on Amazon.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

By Glenys O'Connell
As writers, we’re dreamers – and I don’t just mean about characters and plot lines. No, we also fantasise about our soaring careers, about signing books for hordes of adoring fans, of watching our titles fly up the NY Times bestseller list, of being invited to chat with Oprah, of writing non-fiction that catapults us onto the speech circuit as An Authority. And then we daydream about what we’ll do with all those millions or how we’ll parlay our growing knowledge into something that will help change people’s lives…. Yes, there are probably as many dreams as there are writers. About the life we’ll lead as Famous Writers whose books are Bestsellers. But here’s the hard truth: these dreams have little to do with your success as a writer – unless you act on them. To be successful you need talent, yes, and a commitment to your work. You need to use that talent to turn those dreams into something approximating reality. The simple truth is that first and foremost, a writer writes. It’s that simple. The complicated bit comes in knowing what you should be writing and in planning for your success. Don’t give up the dreams, just temper them with a little feet-on-the-ground common sense. Find a way to turn them into goals. Plan your writing career as you would any other endeavour that’s important to you. Dream big, for sure, but keep one eye firmly fixed on your own reality. But whatever your writing ambitions, you need a plan.

Consider these points:

1) A dream is not a goal – recognise the difference between your writerly dreams, and what would really satisfy you. Ask yourself why you write – would you be surprised to find that the answer isn’t necessarily ‘to get rich’ or ‘to be famous’?2) Despite what you may have been told about writing every day, there are lots of successful writers who hold down full time jobs and squeeze in their writing at weekends. Their secret? They plan their work and work the plan. 3) A dose of reality – if you’ve considered #1 above, you know where your ‘success satisfaction’ lies – now find out what sort of writing would take you there. 4) Writing is hard, lonely work. Why are you doing this to yourself? What can you do to ensure your precious writing time is your own without becoming a hermit? Consider setting up a ‘support network’ of other writers (the Internet is a great resource for this!) These are other writers who share triumphs and setbacks and encourage each other – but who understand that the writing comes first. 5) Whittle away the fat: identify your writing goals. Having a road map for your writing career will help prevent you from going off at tangents that steal time, energy & creativity and prevent you from reaching your writerly destination. 6) Knowing what you want to achieve and drawing up a plan gives you an overview. This overview allows you to draw up the actions you need to take. These can be broken down even further into ‘Baby Steps’ which let you utilise even small segments of spare time to take your ambitions a little further ahead. 7) Setting up your goal calendar which outlines the tiny steps forward and shows where the giant leaps and bounds can happen.…8) So many different types of writing work – novels, articles, copywriting, teaching, editing, 9) Career planning 101: now that you know where you’re going don’t forget to pencil in some time to evaluate each stage to make sure you’re on track – or check to see if you need to change direction…10) Learn to cope with distractions, to be decisive in handling the everyday crisis and not to let the little things become big time stealers. You need to keep all those plates spinning at once – family, friends, day job, health, etc. – and still write. Believe me, cars and appliances break down, kids need you to volunteer at school, relatives need care, big projects will come up at work…all these things will continue to happen whether you’re writing or not. You might well be calmer and more cheerful about dealing with them if you’ve been able to do your writing quota! There are many resources with tips for writing & coping with living – search the internet for Book-In-A-Week, BIAW, Flylady, Charlotte Dillon’s site, and any more you can come up with for tips, tricks and support.

speechwriting, speaking….oh my! Keeping an open mind about opportunities and where they might lead you will help you pick the best writing and promotional opportunities for your career.

Glenys O’Connell knows what it’s like to keep on writing through the Everyday Real Life crises and the Knock Your Sox Off type of crises, too. Along with teaching creative writing, she’s led courses in Achieving Your Goals which have helped not only writers, but people with dreams of starting a business, retiring early, or changing their lifestyle. Check out her website-in-progress at http://www.glenysoconnell.com

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Not all monsters live under your bed. Some do, but more live out in the open for the world to see but not recognize. Monsters come in all sizes and shapes. Some are drooling troll-like creatures that blither and babble and keep you awake. Some shadow you on your daily tasks, causing you to drop things, run into walls and forget why you walked into a room. There's the big pink bubble gum monster, homeless on the streets, that grabs the sole of your shoe and throws you to the sidewalk.

And there are the greeblings. Greeblings are invisible. They live in every house that has a cat. Sometimes they look in a window at night. Sometimes only a cat can see them.

Greeblings cause cats to go nuts long after midnight. 'Long around four in the morning, our dear kitty, Smokin' Mocha Java, becomes the caffeinated cat from hell. She comes into the bedroom on tippy-paw and chirps to let us know she's fine. Sometimes she chirps a whole bunch of times before we rouse enough to acknowledge the princess's presence. Then, she turns and races down stairs, hits the wet-shoe tray, pounces on her catnip mousie, and runs down the second flight of stairs to the basement. Tiptoe back to the bedroom. Chirp, dash, repeat. Last night was no different, except the greeblings began earlier and lasted longer. I counted at least six iterations of the pattern.

Don't get me wrong, She's not the only one who hears things that aren't there. My house has two spirits who visit occasionally. Odd, because the house was built in 2001, but the land was built much earlier. One spirit is male, the other female. Both are benign. Both speak directly in my head and to characters in my books. Both have spoken to friends who've stayed overnight.

I have this image of the man. Native American. Not a Plains Indian, but not dressed in beads and feathers either. More a Daniel Boone figure in buckskins. Kindly face. Words of wisdom shared with me and some, but not all, of my characters. He's pretty busy, so he doesn't come often. When he does, he nudges me to do or think something new.

The female is a bit more of a cipher. I think she may be an early settler, but she may also be Native American. I've never seen her, but her presence often hovers in my bedroom or office. I never know when I'll feel her until I get a touch of cold air on my neck. I mean, the coldest air imaginable. That's when I know she's in residence. I welcome her touch, now that I've learned it can't hurt me.

Once when she came late in the evening, Mocha came out of a deep sleep, all puffy-tailed, on guard against the thing that didn't go bump that night. After a few seconds, she walked over to the corner of the room and sat down. Tail unpuffed. She stared upwards. I know she was hearing, "here, kitty, kitty."